The applicant within recent years has developed knockdown, rectangular storage or platform beds which may support slidable drawers within one side or both sides of the bed via a unique framing structure, which drawers slide into openings within the bed frame and underparts supporting the box spring and mattress to permit the storage of clothing and the like within said drawers. Such beds are the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,689 issued Oct. 21, 1986 entitled. "BED FRAME AND RELEASABLE COUPLING EMPLOYED THEREIN".
Such knockdown bed is comprised of opposed, longitudinally separated end boards, laterally opposed side boards and a plurality of U-shaped channel members of a length approximating the length of the end boards for connection of the opposed end boards and side boards in a rigid, rectangular frame assembly. Each of the U-shaped channel members mounts an overcenter latch assembly at opposite ends of each channel member for detachably coupling the channel member ends to receiver assemblies fixedly mounted to and at longitudinally spaced positions along the bed opposed side boards.
The channel members include laterally projecting flanges on each side thereof defining C-shaped slots to each side thereof. Thin, rectangular, hollow core panels are slidably inserted within the facing C-shaped slots of adjacent channel members to form a planar box spring and mattress support across the top of the bed and extending longitudinally from one end board to the other and laterally from one side board to the other. The U-shaped channel members which support the thin panels are inverted with their open ends facing downwardly and with the channel member bottoms nearly flush with the panels.
In one embodiment of the knockdown beds of the '689 Patent, the side boards take the form of an open ladder frame of rectangular configuration including vertical risers joining top and bottom board members and defining a series of longitudinally spaced, rectangular openings therein. A lower row of U-shaped channel members are detachably mounted by latch assemblies to receiver assemblies fixedly mounted to the inside of the side boards at spaced longitudinal positions along the bottom board of the open ladder frame. The channel members of both rows form four corner slides for a plurality of rectangular, upwardly open drawers inserted through the openings of the ladder frame, with the corners engaging the slides and thereby permitting the drawers to function as openable and closable storage containers for the knockdown bed. In the knockdown platform and storage beds of the '689 Patent, the U-shaped channel members include respective ones affixed directly to the headboard and footboards, along the sides of the channel members such that the detachable coupling between the U-shaped channel members via the overcenter latch assemblies and the receiver assemblies fixedly mounted to the bed sideboard connect the headboard and footboard to respective ends of the laterally opposed side boards.
Further, each coupling receiver assembly includes a U-shaped channel guide member sized and configured to fit into the interior of the channel member at its open end and being fixedly mounted to the face of the sideboard. A vertical plate-like catch is mounted to the interior of the U-shaped guide member and terminates at its upper end in a C-shaped hook portion whose open side faces away from the channel member. The overcenter coupling or connection is effected by a latch assembly which comprises an inverted U-shaped saddle member, including horizontal base, legs depending from the base at opposite sides thereof with the legs terminating in bosses which project outwardly of the legs to opposite sides of the saddle member. The bosses are received within holes of the U-shaped channel members for pivoting of the saddle member about an axis defined by the bosses. An integral finger projects upwardly from and at right angles to the base of the saddle member. A U-shaped wire latch bar is pivoted at free ends thereof to the base and projects outwardly from the base. The latch bar is pivotable between positions in line with the base and at generally right angles thereto and parallel to the finger. The U-shaped wire latch bar is of a length and the holes for rotatably mounting the bosses are positioned remote from the end of the channel member, such that the U-shaped wire latch bar may be positioned with its center engaging the C-shaped hook portion of the plate-like catch with the finger at right angles to the U-shaped wire latch bar and parallel to the side board bearing the receiver assembly. With the finger deflected from raised vertical position to a generally horizontal position, the U-shaped wire latch bar pivots overcenter, i.e., across the pivot axis defined by the bosses, causing the end of the channel bar to abut the side board and capture the channel guide internally of the U-shaped channel member and being rigidly coupled thereto via the overcenter action of the coupling latch bar.
While the knockdown platform and knockdown storage beds of the '689 Patent permit the ready set up and disassembly of each type of bed, and which may adequately support slidable drawers, such beds require upper and lower rows of receiver assemblies fixed to the side boards of the bed, and upper and lower sets of channel members longitudinally spaced and extending parallel to each other and being fixed along the top and bottoms of the side boards to function as guides for the slidable drawers. Further, the bed frame itself must absorb the load of the goods stored within the drawers. Additionally, the fixed mounting of the channel members to the sides of the headboard and footboard, while suitable for certain specific platform and storage bed, limit the channel member insertable panel assembly as a planar mattress support to those platform and storage bed styles, and to date have not been adaptable to traditional 4-leg platform type bed.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide such platform, storage beds which utilize a series of U-shaped channel members mounting the overcenter latch assemblies and detachably coupling channel members ends to receiver assemblies fixedly mounted to opposed side rails of more traditional, 4-legged platform beds, which support thin panels slidably inserted within facing C-shaped slots of adjacent channel members to form a planar box spring and mattress support across the top of the bed without interfering with the use of conventional hardware for attaching the mattress rails to the head and footboard, which provides a simple support system utilizing the channel members for supporting and guiding the drawers slidably inserted into the interior of the bed beneath the bed members providing a planar mattress support with reduced friction, and which permits a significant portion of the mass carried by the drawers to be supported by the underlying floor rather than the bed frame itself, and wherein the overcenter latch assembly functions additionally as guides for guiding the drawers during insertion and removal from their position beneath the planar mattress support assembly.